


Of Guardians and Gods

by MonPetitTresor



Category: Supernatural
Genre: All emotions, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Humor, Gods and Goddesses, Hurt Sam, Is this enough tags?, M/M, More tags to be added, No one touches Sam, Not all witches are bad, Original Species, Post-Stanford, Protective Aletha, Protective Sam Winchester, Sam Winchester Has Powers, She is fierce, Stanford Era, Tutator, Wicca, Witchcraft, Witches, Worship, as needed, powers, religious talk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-01 10:19:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13996185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonPetitTresor/pseuds/MonPetitTresor
Summary: On his way to Stanford, Sam is attacked at a rest stop bathroom and kidnapped by witches looking to drain him of the power he doesn't even realize he has inside. Alone for the first time, he has no idea how he's going to get out of this one - until he's rescued by something he never could've expected. What happens that night changes the course of his life forever.Now Sam's on his way to Stanford with a brand new companion, emerging powers he's no longer going to be able to deny, and a chance to make a life for himself away from his family.Of course, even when some things change, there are some things that will always stay the same.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheRiverScribe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRiverScribe/gifts), [TalkingToMyselfAgain (UmbraeCalamitas)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UmbraeCalamitas/gifts), [totalnovaktrash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/totalnovaktrash/gifts), [BabylonRanger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabylonRanger/gifts), [Hyrulehearts1123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyrulehearts1123/gifts), [madamelibrarian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/madamelibrarian/gifts), [Karategrl80](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karategrl80/gifts), [LadyShadowphyre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyShadowphyre/gifts), [ScrollingKingfisher](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScrollingKingfisher/gifts), [Myselllllf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myselllllf/gifts).



> I hope I remembered everyone to gift it to. This whole story is dedicated to my Discord Darlings. Without you, this story would not have been possible. I hope you enjoy every inch of it! An I hope the rest of you don't mind semi-slow updates. :)

How the hell did these kinds of things happen to him? Sam pulled tight against the restraints holding his wrists and torso in place and mentally swore up a storm. Three days – that was all he’d managed to last away from his family and the supernatural world. _Three days._ Three days away from Dad and Dean and somehow Sam had managed to stumble off his bus for a break and walk right into the hands of a group of witches looking to do God only knew what.

Sam did his best to try and figure out just what the hell was going on or where he was. It wasn’t easy with the concussion that was making his vision swim, and the angry voice in his head that sounded far too much like Dad, snapping at him that _this_ was why Sam shouldn’t have left, that he couldn’t ever get away from this life, and he was going to get himself killed.

The last thing he remembered was stepping out of the slightly creepy bathroom outside the bus depot, and then something hit him hard in the back of the head. After that, he’d woken up here, tied to some sort of pole, wrists behind his back and on the other side of the pole. It was dark save for some flickering lights that were either a sign of his concussion being really bad, or candles. Neither one was a good option.

Chanting broke through Sam’s inner ranting. It was almost funny how quickly his mind snapped into hunter mode.

This was bad. Very, very bad. Candles, chanting, Sam tied up – it spelled witches, and it stank of sacrifice of some sort.

“Hey!” Sam winced at the sound of his own voice ringing far too loudly in his ears. He blinked his eyes a few times to try and get things to come into focus. It didn’t really get any better once it did. There were five witches he could see now, and they were standing around what was clearly an altar. _How the hell is my luck so bad_? Sam ignored that thought and tried calling out again, wincing once more at the stab of pain it brought to his head. “Hey! What’re you doing?”

The chanting only grew louder. Sam watched as one of the women threw something down between them. He narrowed his eyes, just for them to widen when he realized that was a bronze bowl between them. One they were throwing ingredients into.

Sam started to struggle, yanking the best that he could at the ties at held him. There wasn’t a single bit of give in them. They didn’t move at all! _Dammit_ , this was _not_ how he was going to go out! He wasn’t going to die here at the hands of a few witches gone bad, just _three freaking days_ after leaving his family behind for a more normal life! Sam absolutely refused to believe that his dad was right; that he couldn’t leave this life behind. He wanted a chance to see how normal people lived. To be _safe_. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently so. Sam hadn’t managed to loosen the rope at all when he saw one of the women light a match. “No!” The shout tore out of Sam, loud and desperate. He knew his chances would be even less once they lit whatever spell they were using here. The rope bit into his wrists as Sam struggled harder and harder. “No, please, don’t do this! Whatever it is you’re trying to do, you don’t have to do it, please!”

The one holding the match turned to look at him and grinned. She said a word, loud and clear and ringing through the air, and dropped the match.

There was one brief instant where Sam swore he felt the whole world go still. Where it didn’t even feel like he was breathing. Then, whatever in that bowl lit, the flames shot up into the air, and Sam began to scream.

It felt like someone was reaching down inside of him and grabbing hold of everything that he was. His chest and his head burst to life in a bright blast of agony, unlike anything he’d ever known or experienced before. This was like shards of glass scraping away at his insides, drawing parts of him out, sucking up his energy right along with it. He didn’t have the strength to struggle – barely had the energy to scream. Yet scream he did. His voice echoed loudly around the clearing they were in until it drowned out the sounds of the world around him. The chanting, which had started again and gotten louder, all of it was fading away into the background. The only things Sam could hear were his own screams and the pounding of his heart.

Until another noise abruptly drowned it all out.

A terrifying scream ripped through the air. This wasn’t a scream of fear or of pain. This was a sound of pure _rage._

Sam wanted to open his eyes, he really did. The part of him that wasn’t so consumed by the pain was more than positive that he should find out what was going on here. That it was important. But he could barely register it all through the absolute agony that was ripping apart his chest and head and draining everything away from him. Just barely did he hear the sounds of screaming, but human and something else, something almost _feral_ , and a sickening noise that he might’ve recognized at any other time. Then there was a massive crash, and everything just _stopped._ The sound, the pain, all of it stopped.

The absence of pain had Sam’s body slumping down in exhausted relief. Only the pole and his bindings kept him from falling straight to the ground. The rope supported him. He didn’t even have the strength to lift his head when he heard the low sound of footsteps padding across the ground, just barely audible over his panting and his still pounding heart.

Sam tried to gather the energy to open his eyes or move his head. Hunters instincts were insisting that he run. That whatever had just happened wasn’t exactly going to bode all that well for him.

Then he heard a soft, pained sound, and a low feminine voice saying “Oh, sweet boy.” There was a soft sigh, and then his arm was touched by something… furry? “Don’t move. I don’t want to accidentally bite you. Kind of defeat the purpose of the whole _rescue_ thing.”

The words ‘bite you’ only had a split second to register and then Sam felt something sharp and _very_ pointy against the rope around his wrists. His sluggish brain readily supplied the worth _teeth_. That didn’t make any sense, though. Whoever this girl was, why on earth would she be biting the rope? No human would have teeth sharp enough to get through it.

Sam didn’t have any time to wonder about it. He felt the rope tear, felt his body slump, and what little strength he had left seemed to go down with him. There was no way he could stop himself as his body sank down to the ground. Only, instead of hitting something hard, there was something soft and furry there to catch him. “Woah!” that woman’s voice said again. The furry thing pressed against him and Sam found himself carefully lowered down to the ground. It felt like sharp teeth caught at the collar of his shirt and tugged on him, drawing him even more onto the softness that he’d landed on.

More than anything, Sam wanted to open his eyes. He wanted to see whatever this was that he was on, that had saved him. Because even mostly out of it like this, he knew this thing wasn’t human.

Only, he didn’t get the chance. Darkness was sweeping in.

The last thing that Sam heard before he was sucked under was that woman’s voice telling him “You’re safe now, Sam. I’m here, and no one’s ever keeping me away again.”

* * *

Years of living as a hunter had taught Sam some things that couldn’t easily be forgotten. They’d been bred into him until they were instinct. Waking up alert was one of those things. There was no lazing in bed for the Winchesters. When they woke, they were up. Sam had learned to adjust to that sensation and to use it. He’d learned how to lay there in bed and assess the room around him. What Dean was doing, if Dad was home, what Dad was doing.

That skill had come in handy the few times that Sam had been taken by something supernatural. Despite their best efforts, it _had_ happened a few times, to all of them.

Sam put that skill to use now as he woke up on something soft and warm that he only vaguely remembered lying on. Keeping his breathing even to not give away that he was awake, Sam laid there and assessed the situation while his brain rushed to remind him of everything that had happened before he’d passed out.

The pain and exhaustion that he’d felt before were long gone; it felt as if Sam had just woken up from the best night of sleep he’d had in a long time. But he also recognized that he was waking up with most of his body on the ground, and his upper half still lying against the same soft thing that had caught him before. Whatever it was that had come in and rescued him at the end, that had cut him free and cushioned his fall, it was still here. Still lying under him and allowing him to use her, _it_ , like a pillow.

His thoughts were cut off by a low, growling sort of laugh that vibrated through him. “Do you always think this much when you just wake up, or is it some sort of ‘after hunt’ sort of thing?”

So much for pretending he was still asleep. Sam let instinct take over, and he rolled his body to the left, _away_ from the voice. His eyes shot open as he did and he took in the forest ground under him, the altar he’d seen earlier, and then… then his whole focus was caught on the _giant freaking cougar_ calmly lying on the ground where he’d just been. Sam froze a few feet away, his body halfway to a crouch, braced to run. Only, he couldn’t. Not while he was staring at the cougar that was watching him with a look Sam could only label as amusement.

“Holy shit,” Sam breathed out.

The cougar gave him a sharp-toothed grin that was vaguely terrifying. “I prefer Aletha, actually.”

 _She spoke_. That voice Sam remembered, the one that had talked to him right before he passed out, that was the same voice. The one that seemingly came from this _cougar._ “You… you can talk.”

“It’d seem so,” she – Aletha – said teasingly. Was it possible for a cougar of all things to look _teasing_?

Sam wasn’t sure what the hell to do here. Running seemed like a monumentally stupid idea. Whatever this thing was, it wasn’t a regular cougar, which made it infinitely more dangerous. Not to mention, a look around showed Sam that Aletha hadn’t exactly been kind in taking down the witches. It was just more proof of what could happen to him if he tried to do something as stupid as running. But… would she harm him? Would she really? Especially after saving him?

If Dean or Dad were here, their advice would’ve been to get to a weapon, any weapon, and try to take Aletha down. They wouldn’t have cared that she saved Sam. They just would’ve seen something supernatural. In their world, if it was supernatural, you killed it.

Sam refused to live by those rules. He’d hated them before, and he wasn’t going to follow them now that he was on his own.

His stubbornness and his desire to _not_ be who his father tried to make him be had Sam slowly sinking back to rest on his knees on the ground, though his eyes never left Aletha. “What do you want?” The question was asked carefully, with as nonjudgmental of a tone as he could manage. He really, really didn’t want to offend her.

Aletha twisted her body a little without ever getting up from the ground. It kept her down low while allowing her to rest her front paws towards Sam, giving her the ability to better look at him. The smile she wore grew a little while her tail swayed happily behind her. “Don’t worry, Sam Winchester. I’m not gonna hurt you.”

“How do you know my name?”

It looked a little like Aletha winced. “Well, now, you’re probably not going to like the answer to that.”

That had to rank as one of the least reassuring things that Sam had ever heard. He braced himself all over again to be prepared to run, just in case. Even as he did, it felt like there was a soft tingle right down in his chest, a strange sort of sensation that Sam recognized, yet felt so out of place here. It was the kind of feeling that he usually got when he was curled up against Dean in the back of the Impala, or when his brother had used to tuck around him in their hotel bed after another of Sam’s nightmares. That same feeling was there in Sam’s chest now, only he couldn’t understand why. Why was it there? And why was it growing stronger the longer that he looked at those bright green eyes?

Aletha’s ears lowered a bit, and her tail gave a flick behind her. However, she kept her chin up and didn’t break eye contact with him, never once looking away as she began to speak. “I’ve always known you, Sam. Usually, I would’ve found you at about puberty, but you were hidden by some pretty strong magic. I had no idea where you were until I felt your soul screaming for me tonight. Once I did, I latched on and came here as quick as I could. Thankfully, not finding you won’t be a problem anymore. With our bond in place, no magic can keep me from finding you wherever you are.”

Wait a second, _what_? Sam’s mouth dropped open, and any idea of running vanished. All he could do for a moment was stand there and gape like an idiot at her. The words she’d said didn’t seem to be processing quite right. There was no way he’d heard her correctly. _Bond_? What on earth was she talking about? Out of all of the things she said, that was the one that Sam got stuck on the most, and it was the part that he found himself blurting out. “What bond are you talking about? What did you do to me?”

“Have you ever heard of the _Tutator_?”

The random nonsequitur threw Sam for a loop. He stared at her for a moment, not quite sure what to make of this, only to shake his head.

Aletha nodded as if she’d expected that. One of her front paws crossed over the other, and she settled herself down a little more, clearly preparing to tell her story. Despite himself, Sam sat down as well, crossing his legs underneath him. He tried his best to ignore the scene on the ground nearby and just focus on the cougar, _being_ , in front of him.

“I come from a species that humans used to call _Tutator_.” The way she said the word came out sounding like ‘to-tay-tor’. It wasn’t a word Sam recognized; not the language, and not from any of the years of supernatural research he’d done. She must’ve been able to see the confusion or something on Sam’s face because she gave a small smile like she was amused. “I doubt you’ve heard of us. We haven’t really been around as much the past, oh, thousand years or so. What we are is simple, though: we’re guardians. We’re probably how the original stories of familiars began, back before familiars actually happened.”

He’d heard of familiars. Any hunter who did research into witches had heard of them. He’d just, never seen one before, or heard of anyone who knew anything about them other than just rumor. “So, you’re a familiar, but… not?”

Aletha looked amused by Sam’s stumbling over his question. “In a way. We were around before the first familiar was born, before anyone believed in _guardian spirits_ or anything like that. Like familiars, we’re pretty much in animal form, as you can see. We’re just not restricted to one animal form. And, like familiars, we’re drawn to people with powers. Once in a while, one of us ends up protecting someone who doesn’t have powers, but more often than not we look after a certain type of magic user. Psychics, empaths, those who have the power of psychometry. Basically, people whose powers leave their hearts and minds open and exposed. It’s our job to keep them safe.”

Caught up in her words, Sam completely forgot about where they were, or what was around them. His brain was racing too quickly with the excitement of new knowledge. The number of questions that Sam had was staggering. To think, there was an entire race of beings out there that no one seemed to know about! It was _amazing_! If she were telling the truth, it was proof right here that not every supernatural creature was bad. This was an entire race who were seemingly dedicated to protection.

However, amidst all his questions, one was at the forefront of Sam’s mind, and it was the one to make it past his lips. “So why are you here? With me?”

She smiled at him. For some reason, it set him at ease. “Each of us has a human of our own out there that we’re meant to guard. One that’s made specifically for us. We can help others, and we do, but we’re built to bond to the soul of one specific person.” Once more she was grinning at him, only it was less terrifying this time; more joyful. “ _You’re_ my person, Sam. I’ve been waiting for you for a long, long time.” Her brow furrowed and her smile briefly wiped away. In its place was something unhappy, with hints of anger at the edges. “I should’ve been with you right from the start, but somehow, someone managed to block me. I don’t know how. Like I said before, it wasn’t until these witches did their spell that I was able to find you. I ran like hell to get here the instant I did.”

“Me? You think _I’m_ your person?” There was no way! She had to have this wrong somehow. Sam shook his head and sat back a little without realizing he was doing it. His body was instinctively trying to move away from what he was being told here. “You’ve got it wrong or something, cause I’m not any of those things you were talking about. I don’t have powers.”

His protests didn’t bother her in the least. “Yes, you do. I’m shielding you from them a little right now.” The look that crossed Aletha’s face could only be called a scowl. She gave an angry lash of her tail. “I can’t be sure, but it feels like someone blocked them. You should’ve been dealing with them since you hit puberty. I mean, we’re lucky you weren’t. That would’ve _sucked._ But they were probably leaking through until these idiots tried to steal them and broke the dam. You’ve probably noticed it happening. The weird headaches, maybe an occasional nosebleed. Bad feelings sometimes, right before something goes wrong. Nightmares that you can’t explain, you just know they scare you. Unsettle you.”

“I’ve always had those! They aren’t anything new or special!” Sam insisted loudly. He didn’t have powers! There was no way! Nightmares, nosebleeds, headaches, those weren’t a sign of _anything_! There was no way Sam had any sort of powers! “I’m not a witch!”

“No,” Aletha agreed easily. “You’re not.” Then she tilted her head at him, and her expression was a bit scolding. If she were human, she probably would’ve been wagging a finger at him. Sam could practically picture it in his mind. “Though I’ve gotta point out, Sam, you really shouldn’t hate witches as much as you do. Not all witches are bad, you know.” When that only made Sam scoff, she rolled her eyes at him. “Okay, listen. Think of it like this. You hunters, you track cases down by things like strange deaths, random disappearances, cattle mutilations, that sort of stuff, right?”

“Yeah,” Sam said slowly.

“So when exactly were you supposed to come across a good witch, huh?” She tilted her head and gave a huff that made her whiskers twitch. “Your job only exposes you to the worst of the worst. Assuming that the ones you’ve met represent the entire group… that’s racial profiling, Sam. Sometimes tells me you’re a lot smarter than that.”

Sam stared at her, stunned by the simplicity of her words. He’d had this argument for years with his father and brother, only to be shot down time and time again, and it seemed like he’d never been able to find the right words to explain what he felt. Yet Aletha had.

Nodding, Aletha seemed to accept that she’d given Sam something to think about. A lot to think about, actually. “You know, why don’t we move this conversation somewhere a little more comfortable for you?” she suggested suddenly. “I did the best I could to heal you, but you should rest a little. Probably not on a forest floor though, hm?”

Sam startled a little. He’d almost forgotten where they were. Turning to look at the bodies lying nearby, he grimaced. How could he have forgotten them? Or forgotten that the being in front of him had been the one to do it? Granted, she’d done it to save him, but she’d _done it_ , and she didn’t seem to have any real care about it.

As if she picked up on that thought somehow – and it scared him to think that maybe she _had_ picked up on it, he had no idea what this bond thing that she’d mentioned was able to do – Aletha gave a low, rumbling sound that was almost a purr. “They were going to kill you, Sam.” She waited until his eyes were on her before continuing, her voice and stare never wavering. “They could sense your power, it’s why they took you. They were going to drain it all out of you. That would’ve killed you – and they didn’t care.”

This was just, it was too much. Way too much. Sam brought a hand up and rubbed it over his face. He heard Aletha get up, but he didn’t feel threatened by it. Not even when he could listen to her making her way over to him. A second later she was butting her head against his shoulder. “Come on, Sam,” she murmured. “Let’s get you up and out of here.”

Sam had no explanation as to why he listened to her. With one hand braced on her back, he pushed himself up to his feet. His legs shook for a moment before he forced them straight once more. Aletha stayed there until Sam was steady. Then, to his shock, her whole form seemed to shimmer, and then it was shrinking downwards. When it stopped changing, there was no longer a cougar standing at his side, but a golden retriever.

The dog tilted its head up, and its tongue was out in a bright doggy smile. She nudged her nose against Sam’s hand. “Come on,” she said again. “The roads not far. Let’s see about getting somewhere warm before night gets here.”

Sam stared down at her. This _being_ had just killed these women for trying to hurt him, to kill him, and she’d done it without an ounce of remorse. But she’d done it to protect him. Something inside of Sam was telling him that there was a lot she’d do to protect him.

He had no reasoning to explain why he wasn’t running far, far away from her. Instead, Sam laid his palm on her head, giving her a scratch behind her ears. Then he let himself be led out of the forest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I've got a system now. I just finished writing chapter five here, so I'm a few chapters ahead. Each time I write a new one, I'll post a chapter on here as well, so I always manage to stay ahead.
> 
> Thanks again to my darlings who've helped me with this so much!! YOU'RE ALL AMAZING!

It took almost an hour for them to get back to the road. How the witches had hauled Sam out there, he had no idea. The walk was slow going, over unsteady terrain, and the sky was slowly starting to darken. By the time they made it to the road, twilight had settled over them and night was creeping in. Sam pulled his jacket tighter around himself to try and keep the chill away.

That was about the time that he realized that, not only did he have no idea where exactly he even was, he also didn’t have any of his stuff. That included the single duffle he’d packed with him when he’d left _and_ his wallet. Sam had cursed pretty loudly when he’d patted his pockets and found that gone. Great! That was just freaking _great_!

“What’s wrong?” Aletha asked, watching him worriedly.

Sam groaned. He used one hand to push his hair back from his face, ignoring it as it just fell right back down again. “I don’t have any of my stuff. My bag’s probably still underneath the damn bus, and my wallet’s not in my pocket.” God _dammit_! How was he supposed to do anything now? Unless they’d searched his shoes, too, all he had was emergency money, which meant he had nowhere near enough for food, a place to stay, and another bus ride. And he was due at Stanford within a _week_!

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Aletha nudged his hand. Sam looked down to find her staring up at him, her eyes still the same bright green as they’d been when she was the cat. “Why don’t you keep walking this way – I’ll do a quick flyover and see if I can find us somewhere to rest for a while, at least. We can figure the rest out in the morning.”

It was a practical plan. Not ideal, but the best they were going to come up with. “That sounds good. You’re, um…. You sure you don’t mind?”

Aletha beamed brightly at him and gave a low bark that sounded a lot like a laugh. “You know, some of my siblings used to say I was bound to end up with a sweet bonded that would counteract my bitchy side. I’m glad to see they were right.” That said, she gave another of those barking laughs and then shimmered again. This time her form ended as a raven, which let out a loud _CAW_ before launching up into the air.

Tilting his head, Sam watched as she took off into the darkening sky until he couldn’t see her anymore. Then he gave a small shake of his head. Folding his arms over his chest for warmth, he started walking again.

How on earth was this his life? He’d been gone from his family for three days, and things had seriously become weirder than they’d ever been back with them! Sam had been kidnapped by witches looking to steal his non-existent powers, which Sam still didn’t believe he actually _had_ , and he was rescued by a cougar that wasn’t really a cougar. The number of jokes Dean would make at that had Sam cringing. Then – _then!_ – to make matters _better_ , it turns out the cougar was a girl who could shapeshift, was trying to claim that Sam had magic, and had somehow _bonded_ him! What that even meant, he had no idea, or how it had happened. They hadn’t done anything! She’d come in, killed some witches, untied him, and he’d passed out. Where in that was there anything resembling bonding?

More to the point – what was this bonding going to mean for him? Aletha had said it meant they could always find one another. As little as Sam liked to admit it, he had to give her that. Though he couldn’t explain _why_ , there was a part of him that seemed to just _know_ which direction she was in right now and that she was getting further away. So, unless he’d gone crazy – a distinct possibility – that part was true. Was this going to mean anything else for them? Sam resolved to ask her the instant they were settled in.

That was another thing. If Dean or Dad could see him now, going off with Aletha, letting her stay with him, oh man, they’d be _pissed_. Not that they weren’t already. _Dad told you to never come back if you walked out. What does it matter what he’d think anymore?_

The sensation in his chest that he’d noticed before grew a little stronger. Sam’s head tilted up and to the right as he stopped walking. Just a few moments later, a small black shape became clear. When she got close, Sam realized that she wasn’t aiming for the ground. She was way too high for that. He’d just barely started to flinch back when she let out another _CAW_ and made a big, curving swoop, coming in behind him and landing on his right shoulder.

Despite the way Sam jumped, it didn’t dislodge Aletha or seem to disturb her at all. She just rubbed her head against his hair and gave his ear a light nip that made him jump again. When she spoke, her voice was low and still very much the same as before, just without the growl to it. This time it carried a hint of a chirp at the edges. “There’s an empty house just a mile up the road. Looks like no one’s been there for a while, judging by the dust on everything. We should be able to stay there for the night. There was even a truck parked in the back. Maybe if we’re lucky, it’ll work.”

“You want me to steal someone’s car?” Sam asked in surprise.

She gave another nip to the bottom of his ear. “It’s not stealing if they’ve abandoned it. Besides, we can leave it at the next town. Someone’ll get it back to ‘em.”

Sam gave a small shake of his head. “You’re just as bad as Dean.” Still, he started walking again. Whether he wanted to take a car or not, he _was_ going to go and make use of the abandoned house to sleep in. It had to be better than sleeping outside. As he started walking, Aletha settled in on his shoulder. He could hear the sound of her feathers rustling in his ear. Sam tilted his head just enough to slant a look her way. “You planning on riding the whole way there?”

“Why not?”

Her simple answer had him rolling his eyes. But he also adjusted a little, so it was less awkward to keep her there. “If you’re gonna ride along, maybe you can answer some questions, then.”

Her beak made a quiet clicking sound beside his ear. “I’ll do my best.” Soft feathers brushed against Sam’s head right in front of his ear in a small nuzzle. “I know this is a lot to take in, Sam. I’ll try and answer everything I can.”

That was a lot nicer than Sam had expected. Then again, she hadn’t really been anything but kind to him so far. A bit sassy, yeah, but still nice. And if she was going to keep being nice and answer questions, he knew just which one he wanted to ask first. “You said we were bonded. What does that mean?”

“Should’ve figured you’d ask that one first,” Aletha murmured. “Well, right now it just connects us. I can sort of shield your powers, keep them from overwhelming you, at least while they’re still new like this. It won’t be as easy later when they’re stronger. We’ll always be able to sense where the other is, no matter how far apart we get, and we’ll be able to tell when the other one is in trouble. Not that I plan on leaving you, but, best to be prepared, you know?” She nuzzled in against him at that, just a stroke of her head against his face before pulling back. “Later, as the bond gets stronger, we’ll be able to feel each other’s emotions, share thoughts, talk mind-to-mind, even share power. I’ll be able to feed you power to help your magic, and you’ll be able to give power to me to help me heal and things like that. Essentially, we’ll be pretty damn awesome.”

The way she said it – like it was all just decided already without any input from him – was enough to put Sam’s back up. His shoulders hunched a little, and he glared sideways at Aletha. “So, what? I just don’t get a choice in this?”

Aletha went quiet. She didn’t speak for a moment, and she didn’t nuzzle in, either. Sam kept walking. It took a few steps before he heard her soft “I’m sorry.” There was a click of her beak, and then her voice was back, a bit stronger. “I’m sorry, Sam. Normally, I would’ve been all over getting your consent. I’d planned out how to explain things to you if I ever found you, and bonding with you… it would’ve been a mutual, _amazing_ thing. But… when I got there tonight, you were bleeding.”

“What?!” Bleeding? Sam didn’t remember any blood!

Even as he tried to look down at himself to check, Aletha was reassuring him “You’re not anymore, don’t worry. I healed you. They’d cut your chest and your forehead. But, that means that me and my magic both touched… I touched your blood. I’m so sorry, Sam, there was just no way I could’ve healed you and not accidentally bonded you.”

Oh. Sam couldn’t help but wince. He knew that there was a lot of power in blood. That’s what it was used in so many rituals and spells that he’d seen. Bobby had taught him that blood could be used for so many things. Bindings – that was just one of them. It kind of made sense that her using magic to heal him would be enough to activate this bond thing between them.

Sam grew silent as his brain tried to process all of this. It was so much to take in. He was reeling from it all. Hell, he was still reeling from the fact that he’d been kidnapped at a _bus stop bathroom_.

Aletha didn’t say anything except to direct them as they walked. She allowed Sam the time to just think, something that he wasn’t really used to. Usually, by now Dean would’ve been trying to either distract Sam or poke at him until he let out whatever was bugging him. But Aletha just let him stew a bit in his thoughts while they walked.

Eventually, after a brief turn off the road, up a driveway Sam hadn’t seen until they were on it, he reached the house that Aletha had found. It was a small thing; just a little cabin meant for either a single person or a couple. Likely a hunting cabin. Going around to the back of the cabin showed that there was a truck there, too, just like Aletha had said. Though it didn’t look like it was in the best of condition. Sam grimaced a little. Much as he didn’t like the idea of stealing, he liked even less the idea of going on foot to get to however far away the next town was.

He resolved to look at it in the morning when there was more light. For now, Sam headed to the back door of the cabin, which was, unsurprisingly, locked. Sam was without all his stuff which meant he was definitely without his lockpicking kit. A quick look around found him a key, hiding underneath the doormat. “Thank God for trusting people,” Sam murmured as he unlocked the door.

Aletha’s report had been accurate. The place was dusty; clearly, no one had been here for a while. It made Sam feel a little bit easier about making use of the place to sleep. He didn’t plan on going far, or messing with anything. Just having somewhere soft to lay down that wasn’t outside was going to be good enough for Sam. The couch, with the quilt draped over the back of it, looked inviting enough.

As Sam made his way to it, Aletha jumped off his shoulder and fluttered over to land on the mantel above the fireplace. She stayed there to watch as Sam smacked the cushions a few times to get rid of some of the dust and then sank down onto it.

Now that they were here, and there was nothing else for them to do, Sam’s brain was waking up a little. He found himself staring at Aletha, who cocked her head and stared back at him. Absently he noticed that, yet again, her eyes were green despite her being a bird. They seemed to be the one feature that stayed the same no matter how she changed.

Aletha ruffled her wings a little and made a clicking sound with her beak. “I can practically see the questions bouncing around in that head of yours. Why don’t you try actually asking some before you end up hurting yourself, hm?”

“You really are like Dean,” Sam said dryly. He’d heard a variation of that remark many times in his life. Thinking about it brought an ache to Sam’s chest that he didn’t want to think about, though.  If he did, he’d start thinking about how Dean had looked the last time he’d seen him, the anger and hurt that had mixed on his face, and Sam _couldn’t_ let himself think about that. He shook his head to clear it away and instead focused on what he _could_ think of. “I just, I’m curious, I guess. I’ve never heard of your kind before. I was just wondering…What exactly can you do? I mean, I’ve seen that you can shapeshift. Could you shapeshift into a human? Are there any limitations?”

Unlike most other people that Sam had come across, his barrage of questions didn’t seem to bother Aletha at all. “There are always limitations,” she said, answering him without hesitation. “I can’t turn into anything supernatural. No dragons, vampires, werewolves, none of that. I _could_ turn human if I wanted to, I suppose. I’ve heard bonded can do it. I’ve never really _wanted_ to, though.” The tone of her voice made it clear she had no desire to do so now. In his mind's eye, Sam had the image of a woman wrinkling her nose, the disgust on her face clear.

“Do you have any other… abilities?”

“I’m immune to magic from other people.” She clicked her beak a few times, and Sam got the impression she was grinning at him. “Spells from you will work fine, but from others? It’ll just roll off me like water. I can’t perform spells like you, but I can help you to focus your magic to do it.”

“I can’t perform spells,” Sam said immediately.

Aletha gave a small chirp that was neither agreement nor disagreement. Then she just kept on going as if Sam hadn’t interrupted. “I heal pretty quickly, too. You’ll find that you will now, too, since we’re bonded. Being bonded with me will let you heal faster, and it’ll make your magic stronger. You’ll still need to eat, though. Speaking of… we should look around in the morning, see if there’s something here you can have. Your body needs food to refuel after all this.”

It was clear Aletha was pretty set on Sam being magical somehow. He got the feeling he wasn’t going to be able to dissuade her from that anytime soon. Sam firmly pushed away any thoughts that she might be right – he wasn’t a witch! He _wasn’t!_ – and focused instead on the next important thing. “What do you want from me?” he asked her. That was a worry that he couldn’t quite let go of. There had to be some sort of catch with this. There always was. He just needed to figure out what it was.

Her eyes darkened a little and the quiet _caw_ she gave sounded somehow _sad_. “I just want you to be happy, Sam. That’s all. I want you to be happy – whatever it means for you.”

“An if that means going to college?”

“Then we’ll go to college. You’ve got the soul of a scholar – there’s no shame in that. Knowledge is a good thing.” Pausing, she tilted her head and ruffled her wings again before giving a sharp clack of her beak. “That’s probably why you’ve got Apollo’s mark on you, actually. He always had a soft spot for scholars and prophets, and you’re both of those.”

That had Sam going still. Too many parts of that jumped out at him – Mark? Prophet? – and it took a second for him to be able to brain stop stalling and focus on one of them. “Apollo’s mark?” What did that mean? Since when did he seemingly have so many different marks or claims by various creatures? He’d grown up as a hunter! Why did it suddenly feel like he was turning into some beacon for supernatural _things_? “What’re you talking about?”

“There’s a mark on your soul. An old one, not really active much, but it’s there. You didn’t know?”

“No!”

She made another low cawing sound. “Huh. Well… it’s not like it means anything right now, anyway. Maybe he helped out somewhere in your past. I’m not sure, I wasn’t around back then. But you don’t have anything to worry about. Even if he did come back around, he’s a pretty good guy. Not a bad patron all around, if you’re gonna have one. But, like I said, it’s not really active, so it’s not anything to worry about. For now, why don’t you lay down a while? You look exhausted, sweet boy.”

This was just, it was all too much. Sam couldn’t keep up with it anymore. He felt like he’d woken up and landed in some strange, alternate world that was even weirder than the actual world. Supernatural creatures were bad enough. Being bonded to some new species he’d never heard of, finding out his soul had been marked by a pagan god at some point, having Aletha insist he had magic, it was just too many things at once. There was no way Sam could process it all.

He rubbed his hands over his face and tried to calm his racing thoughts.

There was the soft rustle of feathers in the air and then a light _thud_. When Sam looked up, he found that Aletha had shifted into the golden retriever again. She padded her way over to the edge of the couch closest to the window and sat herself down, her chin coming to rest on the armrest. “Go to sleep, Sam. I’ll keep watch. I can sense anything coming long before it’ll get to us.”

Sam found himself following her advice. What else could he do? Maybe when he woke up, the world might not seem so strange anymore. Maybe it’d all be back to normal, and he’d find out this was some weird, messed-up dream.

He wrapped the blanket from the back of the couch around himself and stretched out as best as his long limbs would allow in such a short space. Curled up there, Sam told himself he just needed to get some sleep. That was all. He just needed to get some sleep.

He cracked one eye open when he heard Aletha moving. To his surprise, she made her way to the edge of the couch and then, without hesitation, climbed right on up. There wasn’t really any room for her to lay down in front of him or anything like that, but she didn’t let it deter her. She somehow ended up nuzzled in against his chest, her butt tucked into the curve of his thighs and waist. Sam debated saying something before shaking his head. Grabbing hold of the throw pillow under him, he curled his arm up and sandwiched the pillow between his head and hand, closing his eyes once more.

A second later he felt the warm weight of Aletha’s head coming to rest on his folded arm. Sam snuck another peek at her, only to find that she’d closed her eyes.

Closing his own, he hesitated only a second, and then he let his free arm lay overtop her, curling in to hold her close.

Sam fell asleep with a smile on his lips for the first time since he’d left home.


	3. Chapter 3

Morning didn’t bring with it any great burst of clarity for Sam. It brought a clearer head, yes, and the ability to think without feeling like he was going to get overwhelmed. But it didn’t make anything easier. It didn’t leave him knowing what the hell he was going to do.

Aletha was still there when he woke up, though she wasn’t on the couch with him anymore. No, he found her in the cabin’s kitchen, and she was…she was a lemur. A lemur who was standing on the kitchen counter trying to open up what looked like a jar of peanut butter. There was already a package of crackers on the counter next to her. How stale they were going to be, considering the dust in this place, well… Sam supposed he’d eaten worse.

When she got the lid to pop off, Aletha made a happy sound, looking up brightly at Sam and holding out her prize. “Food!”

A smile tugged at Sam’s lips. “I see that.”

“It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing, right? It should be enough to hold you over for now. The rest of the stuff I found in there, trust me, you do _not_ want to try.”

Sam shrugged. “I’m not picky, don’t worry.” Dean might’ve teased him that he was, but Sam really wasn’t. He _preferred_ to eat a certain way when it was possible. But he also knew that sometimes you had to eat what you could get and count yourself lucky you had food at all.

The peanut butter was set down on the counter. Aletha dug out a knife from the drawer beside her, next, and set it on top the peanut butter jar. “I looked around the rest of the house, too, while I was at it. There’s not really anything here. Nothing we can use, at least. I didn’t find any money here, unfortunately.”

“I wouldn’t steal someone’s money anyway,” Sam said firmly. He wouldn’t do that unless absolutely necessary. “Besides, I’ve got my emergency cash down in my shoe, under the sole. Dean taught me to put it there when I was just a kid. You never carry all your cash in your pockets.”

Aletha lit up at that news. She clapped her hands together and bounced a bit on the counter. “Great! Is it enough? Or do you need to go take it and do one of those weird human things to turn it into more?”

“Weird human things?” Sam repeated, lips curling up into a grin. “You mean a _job_?”

She didn’t bother hiding how she was rolling her eyes at him. “No! Brat. I meant like, I don’t know what it’s called. Some of my charges used to do it sometimes. They’d go play card games, or make bets on stuff, and walk away with a whole lot more money. It’s some weird, human thing. I never paid that much attention to it. Except with Buck. He liked to try and use his powers to see the cards the others had, which usually got his ass kicked, so I had to start blocking him from doing it.”

Gambling. She was talking about _gambling_. Or, well, _hustling_ really. ‘ _A weird human thing.’_ It was a skill that Sam was only marginally good at. Dean had always been more talented at that. Still, depending on where they were, and whether or not they were close enough to a town the right size, he might be able to manage enough to get them to Stanford, at least.

Sam didn’t even realize that he was thinking about taking her with him. The thought was automatic and one that he didn’t register having.

“I’ll figure something out,” Sam finally said. “First, we should probably figure out if the truck even runs.”

“First, you should eat.”

* * *

Under Aletha’s watchful eye, Sam ate his breakfast of peanut butter and crackers. They were just as stale as he’d worried they’d be. But they did the job of putting something inside of him, and that was what was important. Sam ate them all down until both his stomach and Aletha were satisfied. Only then did he clean up his mess and head outside to take a look underneath the hood of the truck.

Still in lemur form, Aletha hung from the open hood and looked down inside with Sam, holding a flashlight for him so he’d be able to see. “Do you know how cars work?” she asked.

“Enough.” Dean had taught him some basic things. How to hot-wire a car, quick fixes when one wouldn’t run right, some general maintenance. But always on cars that _weren’t_ the Impala. There was no way he was going to risk Sam accidentally screwing something up on there. Just watching the way Dean reacted when he’d taught Sam to drive in the Impala… the memory of that made Sam smile.

They got lucky. The truck – they keys to which had been hanging up inside the cabin – only took a little bit of work to be able to get it up and running. Sam just had to clean off a few things. Sure, she didn’t sound the best once he started her up, but she ran. That was what was important.

Once they got that part done, Sam took a moment to look through the cabin himself, hoping to find a map. He got lucky when he looked in the drawers in the bedroom and found not only a map but some old electric bills that made it clear where he was.

The cabin was on a private stretch of road just outside Reno, Nevada, which – now that Sam could think clearly – was where his bus stop had been at. That meant it was only a few hours to Stanford. At least, if he remembered the schedule right. If he could get the truck to last that long, he’d be able to be there before the afternoon was gone. Maybe even in enough time to get to the bus depot and see if somehow his bag had made it to their lost and found!

Sam’s mood perked up quite a bit. He was grinning when he brought the map back outside to the truck. When he saw Aletha waiting for him in the passenger seat, back in her dog form, he actually laughed. “I take it you’re ready to go?”

“Let’s get this show on the road!” she called happily, barking a few times at the end.

Still chuckling, Sam made his way to the driver’s seat. The worry and fear that had been eating at him before, even the stress that had sat on his shoulders before he’d even met Aletha, they seemed to be absent. He felt lighthearted as he climbed behind the wheel of the truck. Things were looking up for him. It was hard not to be cheerful. The way that Aletha was grinning made it clear she agreed with him.

The window near Aletha was rolled down, and she showed no shame in sticking her snout out into the air as Sam backed out of the driveway and out onto the road. When he started going forward and picking up speed, Aletha let out a happy bark that made him laugh.

Watching her excitement, it would’ve almost been easy to forget that she was more than just a pet. More than just a dog.

That is, right up until the moment  that she turned her attention back to Sam and looked at him with those too intelligent eyes, and a lopsided sort of grin, and settled herself in her seat so she could look at him as she asked, “So, tell me about you.”

“I thought you knew all about me.”

Aletha rolled her eyes at him. “I’ve always known your name, Sam. Not your last name, but I’ve always known you’d be a Sam. It’s been a part of me since I was first created. All of us know who we’re going to bond to one day. Now that we’re bonded, I know your soul. I know you’re a good guy at heart and a scholar. I know you’re powerful – and that you’re not ready to admit that yet. What I don’t know are the things that make up who you are. Like… what’s your favorite food? Your favorite book? Are you lazy, or an exercise freak? Do you like scary movies? Are you close to your brother or your dad? Who’s your best friend? Those are the things I want to know.” She tilted her head up and gave him a grin. “I want to know everything about you.”

There was no way Sam could give any sarcastic remark in the face of such earnestness. He’d never had anyone be so interested in him before! Especially not with his brother around.

 _Dean’s not around, though, is he_? Sam ignored that though, though his hands tightened briefly on the wheel. To distract himself, he focused on her questions. “Let’s see… my favorite foods are usually vegetables, though most people laugh at that. I wanted to be a vegetarian a few years ago, but our life didn’t really allow for it.” Plus, Dean had laughed at him so hard he’d fallen off the bed when Sam had dared voice it. “My favorite books right now are the Lord of The Rings, but it used to be The Outsiders.”

He paused for a minute and tried to run back through the list of things she’d asked. What else had she said?

“I’m not lazy – it’s hard to be in this life. I like running, but I don’t like lifting weights or sports or any of that. I hate scary movies.” Why bother with them? His life had always felt like a scary movie anyways. The next question had Sam grimacing and his hands tightening on the wheel yet again. He stared straight ahead, deliberately not glancing her way as he spoke in a flat voice. “I was always close with my brother, but not anymore. My Dad kicked me out for wanting to go to college. He told me not to come back, an Dean didn’t stop him. So, whatever.”

The car fell quiet for a moment.

“He did… he did _what_?” Aletha finally asked.

The open shock in Aletha’s voice was enough to have Sam risking a glance her way. She’d turned away from the window and was openly staring at him now. Was it just the sunlight, or were her eyes glowing just the slightest bit? Sam snuck a few more glances her way, trying to keep focus on the road at the same time. “He told me if I walked out that door, to never come back. He could never understand that I didn’t wanna be a hunter.” Sam had never wanted to be a hunter. He _hated_ it.

Aletha started growling; the low rumble filled the car, making the hairs on Sam’s arms stand up at the open threat in it. “Who the hell does he think he is? What asshole disowns their own kid just because he wants to go to school!”

“We’re supposed to be hunters,” Sam said, his voice full of years of bitterness. “Dad won’t stop till he finds the thing that killed mom.”

The growling faded down to just a low grumble. “Something killed your mom?”

Sam swallowed down the lump in his throat and focused on the road once more. “Yeah. When I was six months old. Dad said it… whatever it was, it um, it burned her on the ceiling, right over my crib.”

The car went silent. This time, when Sam snuck a look, he found that Aletha looked quieter, more contemplative now. Her eyebrows were furrowed down a bit.

“Aletha?”

She blinked her eyes a few times before looking up at him. There was still something about her gaze that looked a bit worried; like she wasn’t quite sure, but wasn’t happy with whatever she was thinking about. But her eyes weren’t turned inward anymore. “Something about that… it feels almost, familiar. I’m not sure what. I just, I feel like I’ve heard it before.”

“If you’ve been around hunters, you probably have. Dad’s not shy about trying to get information.”

“Maybe.” She didn’t look quite like she believed it, though. Abruptly shaking her head, she seemed to brush those thoughts off, once more smiling at him. “Either way, it doesn’t matter. What _does_ matter is that your Dad’s an idiot! He should’ve been proud of you! You’re gonna do great, you’ll see. Then if he ever comes around again, you can rub it in his face just how awesome you are.” She let out a low, threatening growl. “And I can bite him in the ass to show him how much of a dick _he_ is.”

Sam couldn’t help but laugh at that. He shook his head, amused despite himself. “Oh, sure, that’d go over real well.”

“Would you rather I tell him what a dick I think he is?”

“No!” Oh, no, no, no. That wouldn’t go over well at all. “You start talking, my Dad’s not going to ask questions. He’ll just grab a gun.”

Aletha snorted, clearly not at all bothered by that idea. “Like I’m scared of him! No one messes with my human, Sam. You just better get used to that idea.” As if that closed the discussion, she moved forward and flopped her body down into the middle seat, allowing her to lay her head on Sam’s thigh.

Once more shaking his head, Sam nonetheless found himself reaching a hand down to scratch at her ears briefly. “You can’t go around yelling at or biting everyone who’s a jerk to me.”

“Says who?”

Jesus, what the hell had Sam signed himself up for here? It was as if life had decided that Sam was doomed to be surrounded by overprotective people. First Dean, now Aletha. Dean hadn’t had a problem letting someone know when he thought they were too much of an asshole to Sam. Apparently, Aletha was going to be the exact same way, only she had the added help of being able to _shapeshift_ to go with it.

The idea of taking her to Stanford with him just got a whole lot more interesting.

* * *

For such a short car trip, it had to have been one of the most fun ones that Sam had taken in a long time.

He was used to long stretches of time spent in the Impala, either curled up in the passenger’s seat or stretched out in the back. Sam knew plenty of tricks on how to pass the time without getting too bored. Though, very rarely had he done it from the driver’s seat. Between Dad and Dean, it wasn’t like Sam really got much of an opportunity to drive.

But riding with Aletha was – _fun_. She talked for a good chunk of the ride, and her stories kept Sam smiling or laughing for most of the trip. He listened and laughed as she told him about charges that she’d had in the past and helped with their powers. She talked a bit more about Buck, the gambler, and told stories about Joan, who was always mixing up her herbs, and Rhys, whose natural talent got him into way more luck (and trouble) with the men in town. “He never failed to find a bed to fall in,” Aletha said, grinning. “Or fall out of when a wife came home at just the wrong time.”

All in all, it made the few hours they were in the car pass by remarkably fast, and soon enough they found themselves in San Jose. A bit of work got them to the station where Sam’s bus had been due to arrive yesterday.

Once Sam had parked, he was a bit surprised to find that Aletha was moving as if she planned on getting out with him. Sam paused with his hand on the door and turned his head to look at her. “Aletha… you can’t come in with me.”

“Why not?” she demanded, pausing in her movement to join him.

“Most places don’t allow dogs to run free without a collar, tags, and a leash. They don’t let them inside, either, unless they’re a service animal.”

She looked annoyed by this revelation. Which made Sam wonder – how long ago had she last been with one of her charges, as she called them, and what on earth did she do the rest of the time? Was there somewhere that her kind hid out when they weren’t working with someone? Did they just wander the world, living as an animal? Half the time Aletha seemed to understand humans just fine. To almost be a human in an animal-shaped body. Then there were moments like this where Sam was reminded just how _not human_ she was.

As if to really prove that point, she huffed at him, glared, and then shimmered before shifting. Her size compacted downwards until Sam was left staring in open surprise at the tiny little mouse. One that quickly ran over to scramble up the arm of his plaid over-shirt until she reached high enough to get into the breast pocket. “There!” she squeaked out, happily settling into his pocket and peeking up at him from inside. She sounded more than a little proud of herself. “Now I don’t have to stay here!”

Sam stared at her for a moment before he shook his head. It looked like he wasn’t going to get out of taking her with him. “Just make sure no one sees you, all right?”

“ _Sam_.” The way she said his name made the eye roll audible. He didn’t have to look to know she was doing it. “If I couldn’t keep myself hidden like this, I’d be a pretty shitty guardian. Now, would you just calm down and go see about getting your stuff? I’m sure you’d like fresh clothes. And a real coat.”

That was an understatement. Sam was more than ready to have a fresh change of clothes. Not to mention he really wanted the knife and the _money_ in there, plus the paperwork he’d brought with him. He didn’t want to have to fill that out all over again.

With Aletha in his pocket, Sam got out of the truck and made his way into the bus terminal.

There were a lot of people – more than Sam had hoped would be here. He’d never been too big of a fan of large crowds. Especially in strange places where he didn’t know anyone. But something about being in this large group made his skin crawl in a strange, new way. One that had him hunching in on himself. He saw the line up ahead for customer service and made a beeline for it, doing his best to avoid bumping into anyone along the way.

He knew it probably made him look suspicious to be this curled in on himself. But… Sam couldn’t explain it. He didn’t want to be in here. There was a creeping, crawling sensation that seemed to be _under_ his skin and an ache in his head that had him absently reaching up to rub at his temple.

Aletha shifted around in his pocket. It felt like she pressed more against him, almost like she could sense something was wrong. Sam closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. He tried to do what he used to do when he got uncomfortable in crowds – pick one thing and focus on it. Back then, it’d almost always been Dean. Now, Sam used Aletha. He focused on the weight of her in his pocket. The tiny little bit of warmth he was able to pick up from her. The steadiness of her presence there in his pocket, and right there in the back of his mind…

Someone bumped into him, and Sam’s eyes snapped open in surprise. He realized that the line was moving and hurried to take the few steps forward. However, now that he was outside of his head, he also realized something else.

It was a whole lot easier to focus inwards this time, though he made sure to keep track of the world around him while he did. The last thing Sam wanted was for someone to bump into him again. Really, he knew he should probably wait until they were out of here, until he wasn’t in such a busy place. But Sam couldn’t. He couldn’t wait.

He’d felt more than just Aletha’s presence in his pocket when he was trying to ground himself on her. He’d felt her in the _back of his mind_. And as Sam focused now, he found that place easily once more. It was like, now that he’d found it, he was so much more aware of it. Of this spot of _something_ that had taken up place in the back of his mind, and that very clearly screamed _Aletha_ to him. It was like… like he could feel her in his head, feel her staying in the background until he focused on it. That drew her in more, made everything clearer.

That bundle in his head perked up a little, like Aletha was suddenly sitting up and paying attention, and Sam heard a surprised _‘Sam?’_

Sam jumped as if someone had poked him. He only absently paid attention to the line moving and took another step forward. The rest of his focus was inwards. That voice… that voice hadn’t been out loud. He hadn’t her speak. He’d heard her _in his mind._ He remembered what she’d told him when he’d asked her about the bond. _“Later, as the bond gets stronger, we’ll be able to feel each other’s emotions, share thoughts, talk mind-to-mind, even share power.”_ Apparently, _later_ was _now_. That was her voice Sam heard in his head.

Hesitantly, he reached back out. Maybe, if he could hear her, she might be able to hear him? _‘Aletha? Is that… is that you?’_

The presence of Aletha in his mind lit up. It was warm and bright and brought a smile to Sam’s lips. _‘Look at you! You found the bond, and all on your own, too! I knew you were a smart one.’_ Pride was clear in every word of that.

A blush tinted Sam’s cheeks. He ducked his head down a little and pretended for a moment that he was distracted by the line moving again. There were just a few more people left between him and the front, now. _‘I didn’t do anything special._ ’ He hadn’t – not really! _‘I just don’t like crowds, so I was doing this old trick Dean taught me. You just kind of… focus on one thing. It helps you forget about everyone else. An you were the easiest thing to focus on. When I did, I found the, uh, the bond._ ’

There was a momentary pause. Sam could actually feel it now as Aletha was thinking. _‘You grounded yourself using me,’_ she finally sent to him. _‘Whether he meant it or not, your brother taught you how to ground yourself. It’s a crucial skill for someone like you to have. Depending on what your powers come out to be, it might really come in handy. In fact, I’m guessing it probably will, if crowds are this much of a problem for you. What about them bugs you?’_

_‘I don’t know. It just sort of… it always makes my skin feel weird. But that might just be because I’ve got a headache right now, too.’_

_‘Or it could be because you’re a bit more psychic than I was expecting. Most of your power feels like spirit, or like earth, which means you’ve got a pretty good chance for some physical things, maybe a proficiency at nature spells and such. But the spirit part is usually what I feel in people who get powers such as visions, or empathy, or things like that. You might just be picking up on the presence of the people in here, only you’re too new to know how to shield, so it’s hurting you.’_

There was so much that Sam wanted to say to that. Or, he would have, if his thoughts didn’t feel like they were jumping all over the place.

He was saved from having to comment at all when the last of the line cleared in front of him and Sam was free to step up to the counter. This could all be thought about later. Right now, he needed to focus on getting his stuff back. Pulling on a smile, Sam looked up at the lady behind the counter. “Hey, my name is Sam, and I missed my bus at the stop in Reno yesterday. I was hoping that maybe my bag still might’ve made it here…”

* * *

Someone somewhere must’ve been smiling down on Sam finally. Not only was his bag there, it hadn’t even been tampered with. Not a single thing was missing. His clothes were still there, the knife he’d packed, the salt, his Stanford paperwork – and his money. “Thank God,” he breathed out as he checked the contents of the bag once he was back at the truck.

Aletha peeked out from his shirt pocket. “Thank someone. You’ve got someone looking out for you.”

The idea of that wasn’t something that Sam really wanted to think about it. Maybe he would’ve once just brushed it off. Considering recent events, though… yeah, no. He pushed that thought far back and instead focused on what was right in front of him. “I’ve got a few hundred bucks in here that I’d saved up. It might be enough to get us a rental somewhere for a week till school starts an I can get my dorm assignment.” Though what he was going to do with Aletha once he was in a dorm room, he had no idea. Nor did he know what he’d do for food if he had to put this all down on a motel. Ah, well. It wasn’t the first time he’d gone without food.

The very first thing he really needed to do, though, was ditch the truck. It was technically stolen. The last thing Sam needed was to get caught with a stolen truck.

A few small bills in his pocket would be enough to get him a bus. He was just going to have to figure out the bus system around here.

“We need to find a bus stop,” Sam told Aletha. “There should be one around here. We get a little closer to Stanford, we can find a cheap motel and get a room. Then we’ll figure out the rest.”

 _‘We should practice talking like this, so we don’t weird anyone out by you talking to thin air,_ ’ Aletha advised him.

It was good advice. Sam really didn’t need people looking at him strangely as he walked around talking to thin air, or even to an animal. That was a quick way to get himself considered crazy. Sam would really like to avoid _that_ reputation at this school. It was never a fun one to have. _‘Good idea,’_ he told her as he closed his bag back up. After pulling on the jacket that he’d taken from his bag, which had a much better inner pocket for Aletha to hide in, Sam slung his bag over his shoulder and shut the truck door. Someone would find it here, he knew, and they’d get it back to its owner. Sam had been careful to make sure he even parked in a part of the parking lot that didn’t have cameras so no one would see him.

The fact that he knew to do that was something Sam hated, though he tried not to think about it if he didn’t have to.

As he headed out from the bus station in search of a public transit spot, he felt Aletha shift from his shirt pocket to the inner pocket of his coat, where she seemed content to settle in. _‘So, we’re going to go find a motel?’_ she asked him.

Sam had to make a conscious effort not to answer her out loud. It felt strange, and the idea of this – of being even more _different_ – still made his stomach twist a little. But he was practical enough to not bother denying what was clear in front of him. _‘Yeah. I need to get us a motel so we’ll have somewhere to sleep. My paperwork said the campus doesn’t open for registration and such for another week. Once it does, I’ll be able to go in and drop off the last of my paperwork, and get my dorm assignment._ ’ And his dining allowance. _That_ would definitely be nice.

Just at the end of the block, Sam spotted one of those little benches that were in most cities, marked with a pole to let people know it was a bus stop. On that enclosure around the bench looked to be a map; just what Sam needed.

Aletha was quiet as Sam made his way over, and she was quiet when he went to sit himself down on the bench next to an older gentleman reading the paper. It wasn’t until they were waiting there, the bus nowhere in sight – the sign had listed times, and for the bus Sam needed, they only had a few minutes to wait – that she spoke again. _‘Are you sure a dorm is the right option for you, Sam?’_

 _‘A dorm is the only option for me.’_ It wasn’t exactly like there was anywhere else he could go. The fact that he’d managed to save enough that he _might_ be able to afford a week at a motel was amazing, and that was only going to work if he could find somewhere that ran a deal for extended stays. That was what their Dad had done plenty of times over the years. _‘I’m poor, Aletha, and jobless. Where else would I be able to stay?’_

_‘I won’t be able to stay with you there. Not without hiding the entire time.’_

Yeah. That was something Sam had been trying not to overthink. He had no idea what he was going to do. He needed a place to stay, and the dorm was the best place for that. The scholarships he had helped cover it. But staying there wouldn’t allow him to keep Aletha with him. Stanford, if he remembered right, had a ‘no pets’ policy. The only way he’d be able to have her there was if she was a service animal, and that wasn’t something Sam could just fake.

He couldn’t stay there with her, but he couldn’t stay there _without_ her, either. That was quickly becoming clear.

Maybe Sam was wrong, and maybe he’d gone crazy. But with them speaking mind to mind now, and the bond between them so clear in his head – and getting clearer each time he spoke with her – there was no way he could deny things. Not anymore. Aletha was a part of his life now. Even if Sam found a way to break this… he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to. Not when having her here with him was proving to be everything he could have ever wanted, and didn’t know he needed.

He felt her emotions nudge against him in a weird touch that actually made him jump. Sam ignored the strange look it got him from the guy beside him, and how the guy actually scooted away a little. Instead, he focused on looking inwards. He got a low laugh from Aletha in response. _‘Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you like that.’_ A warm sensation filled Sam; it felt like, well, like a _hug_. Just, inside his head. _‘We’ll figure out something, I’m sure. There’s got to be things we can do to earn some money and find ourselves an off-campus place to stay. And if I have to hide for a while… I can hide. I don’t have to like it, but I can hide. Hey! Maybe they’ll let you have a hamster or a mouse. I’m good at being a mouse, as you can see.’_

A public transit bus rounded the corner and began to make its way towards them. Sam pushed up from the bench, fishing out a few of the smaller bills from his pocket that he’d taken from his bag. He fell into line behind the guy who’d been sitting with him and waited for as the bus came to a stop in front of them. _‘You seem to find the good in anything, Aletha.’_

 _‘Well, yeah,’_ she said, a silent ‘duh’ implied. It made it hard for Sam not to laugh when he walked onto the bus. _‘What’s the point of being doom and gloom all the time? Bad stuff’s still gonna happen even if you’re moping about it beforehand. Why not make the best of things until then?’_

That was… that was definitely a piece of advice Sam could get behind. He turned the thought over in his head a few times until he found himself smiling at it. Aletha’s words were a much healthier outlook on life than anything Sam had ever had, or that he’d grown up having. Sam had always tried his best to find the good in things – it was a game he’d played with himself to try and keep cheerful when things seemed really bad. He just hadn’t always succeeded. His temper tended to get in the way. There was no denying it – Sam knew he had a temper. A bad one. It got him into plenty enough trouble over the years.

Maybe being bonded with Aletha, someone who had a positive outlook and who could give him the good side of something like she’d just done, maybe it would help Sam to better put that kind of thought into practice. In the situation they were in, it would definitely come in handy. Sam needed to stop thinking of the negative, of all the things Dad or Dean would hate about this, and start thinking about what was good. What was finally going right.

Sam was smiling to himself when he sat down on his seat on the bus. With Aletha tucked against him, the bond glowing warmly in his mind, and money in his pocket to get them a place to stay, things were finally starting to look up.

 _I made it_ , he told himself, staring out the window. _I actually made it._


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is doubly dedicated to my Discord Darlings for their love, patience, and support this past week. Even while I've been a bit of a dick, you've all been there. So thanks :)

There were quite a few motels and hotels along their bus route that Sam ignored as they went past them. He’d already mentally mapped the way out, and he knew how far the bus would take him, and where exactly it’d stop at. The end of the line would get him pretty damn close to Stanford, which meant that towards the end would be an excellent place to pick a motel.

He waited until there was about a block left before he finally got off. With his bag slung over his shoulder, Sam stepped down onto the sidewalk, eyes already scanning all around him. It took only a second before he found two motels, one in each direction.

The one on the right looked a bit nicer, less like a slum, which likely meant it was going to have slightly higher pricing. Years of experience told Sam that the other motel, which looked a lot seedier, would be cheaper. He’d learned pretty quickly how to help spot the more inexpensive motels in town. As he and Dean got older, it became a game to them in the bigger cities they went to, to try and be the one to spot the motel with the best deal just by how it looked on the outside. Sam knew this one would be the best chance at being within his budget. Yet, when he tried to make himself go that way, something told him not to. He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

 _‘Are you all right?_ ’ Aletha asked him, her mind voice a bit worried.

Sam chewed on his lip, casting one last look at the seedier motel. Then he found himself turning and walking the other way. As he did, he sent an, _‘I’m fine,’_ to Aletha. Her silent curiosity made it clear she didn’t buy his answer, as did her blatant disbelief, and Sam flushed a little and stuffed his free hand down into his pocket. _‘I am. I just… I don’t know. I…had a bad feeling about that other place?’_

Instead of mocking him the way that Dean might’ve, even if it would’ve been just teasing, Aletha gave a low hum over their bond, and then an easy ‘ _Okay_.’

' _It's stupid, I know_ ,' Sam hurried to add on. ' _I'm probably being an idiot about it. I mean, it's cheaper, and right now saving money is the best thing to do. We're gonna need all the money we can get. It just... it looks terrible, and I would bet the price isn't that different, you know_?'

The presence of Aletha grew a little warmer and pressed in closer to him at the same time that he felt her body snuggle as close as she could through his pocket. ' _It's fine, Sam. I trust you._ '

Those last three words, said with such open honesty, were enough to have Sam actually missing a step as he walked.  When was the last time someone had said those words to him and actually meant them? Not in an ' _I'm letting you make this decision now, but I reserve the right to tell you that you're stupid later_ ' sort of way, but in an honest, real, ' _I trust you_ ' way.

There was nothing Sam could say to that, and nothing that Aletha seemed to need to say. She stayed quiet as they made their way towards the motel.

* * *

Sam got lucky. The motel he went to actually had pretty decent rates, and the woman at the desk seemed nice enough when Sam asked about whether they rented by the week or not. She smiled kindly at him when he asked, and if Sam had a feeling that maybe she might’ve taken just a tiny bit off the price after she looked over him and his single bag, well, neither one of them were going to mention it.

As soon as Sam had the key, he headed straight for his newest home. It felt good to step through the door and then be able to shut it between them and the world. To be able to know that they were safely out of the way for now. In here, he could put up salt, ward the room as he’d been trained to do, and then he and Aletha could finally _relax_. Maybe even talk a bit. There were a lot more questions that Sam had managed to come up with. Questions that he thought he might finally be ready to hear some of the answers for.

Setting up the salt lines and other familiar wards were easy enough. Sam did it all by habit as Aletha – now back in her dog form – curled up on the bed. She watched him go through the whole process without saying anything. It wasn’t until he was finished that she finally spoke up. “You know, if you’re okay with it, I’ve got a few more you could put up. Make the place even safer. There’s a lot you’re not quite warded against like this.”

“Yeah.” Sam perked up almost instantly, spinning around to look at her. The thought of learning new – better – wards had the scholar in him, what Dean would call his _inner geek_ , sitting up at attention.

Aletha gave him a doggy grin and pushed herself up to her feet on the bed. She took a step forward, off the edge, and Sam watched with amazement as she shifted on the way down so that she landed on the ground as a monkey. That was never going to stop being amazing. He watched as she made her way to him and immediately reached out towards his arm. Sam bent enough to make it easier on her. Grabbing hold of his forearm instead of his hand, Aletha used that to tug and swing herself upwards, moving one hand to grab the back of his jacket when she was high enough. She scrambled up to his shoulder with one hand in his hair to help hold her in place. “Got a pen?”

“Um…” Sam thought for a second before moving towards the nightstand. He walked carefully to try not to dislodge his unusual passenger. Moving with someone on your shoulder wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Aletha, however, seemed to have no problem just clinging and keeping in place. She stayed there as Sam squatted down and dug in the drawer before coming back up with a pen. “Here.”

She directed Sam over to the part of the wall that held a large picture. “Pull that down, would you?”

“What for?” Sam asked, even as he reached out for it.

Aletha shifted on his shoulder and adjusted herself so she didn’t fall as he set the picture down propped up against the bed. “Because most wards need to be drawn on the room, but there’s no reason to do it on the walls and destroy the room. Better to just put them on the back of the pictures. Keeps it hidden, and it protects whoever comes in the room next.” She waited until he was done before hopping down and going to stand in front of it, pen in hand. Sam watched avidly as she began to draw. “Once your powers are stronger, you’ll be able to ward a room invisibly, so it won’t matter. But until then, this is the best way to do it.”

That brought them right to the topic that Sam knew he was going to have to finally broach with her. If it were possible, it was one he’d avoid at all costs. The very last thing he wanted to talk about was any kind of _powers_ he may or may not have. But the more time they spent together, the deeper this bond went, the less he could deny talking about it. He couldn’t just bury his head in the sand and pretend it didn’t exist. Especially since Aletha was literally _in his head_.

Part of Sam was watching and taking note of the sigils she was marking out on the back of the painting. But the rest of him was focused on trying to find some sort of order to his thoughts. He folded himself down on the ground next to her and curled his legs in under him, elbows going to rest on his knees. Where on earth did he even start?

Sam chewed on his bottom lip in an absent, nervous gesture. “You, um… you keep talking about these powers you say I have. Can you… can you tell me about them?”

“What did you want to know?”

“Well… what are they? And why didn’t I know I had them?” Sam blurted out. “You called me a prophet before when you were talking about Apollo. What did you mean? Because I don’t get visions or anything like that. I mean, I get these dreams sometimes, and they’re weird, but they’re not _real_. Dean always said they weren’t real. I just have an overactive imagination, that’s all. I know you seemed so sure about me having powers or abilities or whatever, but I don’t think, I’m not…”

The more he spoke, the more Sam’s words turned into a ramble, until they were tumbling out of him rapid-fire. Aletha had to cut him off with a quick, laughing “Sam!” She waited until he stopped talking before she turned to grin at him. Absently capping the pen, she turned herself as well and sat down in front of him. “First of all – calm down. You’re making me tired just _listening_ to you.”

Sam felt himself blush and he ducked his head. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I get it. You’ve got a ton of questions, and you’re freaking out on top of it. Just, breathe for me. I’ll try and answer what I can, okay?” Only when Sam nodded at her did she continue on. “I called you a prophet because it was the easiest word for you. I can’t just look at you and see everything about you. But prophets, seers, whatever you want to call them, they hold something special to their souls. Let me put it like this. You probably know enough about witches from lore books to know that a lot of magic gets boiled down to elements, right? Like, some have a predisposition to earth, or fire, or air.”

“Yeah.” That was common all over. Lore, books, television. Elemental magic was a shared theme.

“People with really strong power, like yours, can usually use all those elements. Everyone is more comfortable in one or two of them, though. You’ve got strong ties to earth and spirit. Spirit’s never present except in people who can either see visions or commune with the dead. Judging by how strong the spirit is around you, I felt safe in guessing you’re one for visions. It’d explain even more why Apollo was interested in you. Those feelings you sometimes get, like with the motel, or those dreams your brother told you weren’t real? Those are probably all your powers pushing out in little ways.”

The first thing Sam wanted to do was deny it. Only… he couldn’t. Not when he could feel the truth of her words inside their bond. She wasn’t lying to him.

Sam let out a shaky sigh. _Visions_. She was saying Sam was going to have visions, once she let go of the hold she had on his powers. “What else?” Sam asked her. His voice was quiet; just a shadow of its usual vibrancy. Closing his eyes, he tilted his head down, hands still in his lap. “What else can I do?” _How else am I going to be a freak?_

There was a soft sigh before a familiar shift in the air and a pulse of magic in their bond warned Sam of a change. The next second, he heard a low purr, and a heavy weight moved up beside him. Sam knew without having to open his eyes that Aletha was once more in her cougar form. She sat down right next to him and nudged at his shoulder. _I don’t know_ , she projected into his mind. _Everyone’s different, Sam. I can feel how strong your power is – you’re one of the strongest naturals I’ve ever met – but I can’t sense every way it’ll come out. No matter what you can do, though, it’s… you’re what they call a_ natural, _Sam. You’re not a freak._

All Sam could think of was Dean and Dad. How Dad had taught them their whole lives that their job was to hunt evil, and anything supernatural was evil. He had a particular hatred for witches; people who he saw as _choosing_ power like this. Would Dad see the difference here? Would he recognize that Sam couldn’t control it? Or would… would Sam just be another thing to hunt?

Aletha gave a low growl and nudged her head up under Sam’s chin. She didn’t say anything else, and he was grateful for that. She just sat there next to him and let Sam turn towards her and wrap his arms around her neck, burying his face against her fur. If she felt the moisture that hit, she still said nothing, just sat there and let Sam lean on her. A quiet strength holding him up against a world they both knew would not be kind to him.

* * *

Eventually, Sam got himself together enough to finally pull away from her. She allowed him to turn away from her and wipe discreetly at his face. Sam chose to push up off the ground and go hang the picture back up just to give himself a moment to collect his thoughts and calm himself.

Just because he didn’t like the answers he was getting didn’t mean that he needed to freak out on her like this. All Aletha was doing was answering his questions. Sam needed to suck it up and stop panicking every time she told him something new. This was too important for him to waste time freaking out like this. Sam needed to lock it down and actually focus.

From the direction of the bed, he heard a growling sort of snort. “You know, the more we mind-speak, the more I’m going to be able to catch on to what’s going on in your head.” She waited for him to turn back around and then fixed him with a glare that had Sam swallowing down the words building in his throat. Once she was sure he wasn’t going to speak, she nodded. Then she snorted again, rising up to all fours and walking over to him. “You gotta quit being so hard on yourself, Sam.”

“Freaking out doesn’t do me any good.”

“Better than bottling it up inside,” Aletha shot back.

Her head nudged up against his hand once she reached him. Sam stroked her fur, and Aletha rubbed her head against him while circling slowly around him. When she got behind him, she nudged her head against his backside, making Sam startle and stumble forward. Huffing out a laugh, Aletha did it again, pushing him towards the bed. Sam got the hint. He walked over there before she could decide to try and knock him over.

As soon as Sam was seated on the bed, Aletha hopped up as well. The bed groaned underneath her weight. She didn’t seem to care, though. She just nudged at his shoulder. “Come on, lay down.”

“I’m not tired,” Sam tried to say, only to get cut off.

“I didn’t say you were. But we might as well be comfortable while we’re talking about this, right?”

Well… he couldn’t deny that. Sam was still a bit suspicious, but he gave in. A minute later the two of them were stretched out on the bed together. Aletha had her front half curved at the top of the bed with her front paws dangling off the edge. It left her perfectly set up for Sam – at her encouragement – to lay back and rest his head on her side like she was a pillow. The position was surprisingly comfortable. It also felt… safe. He felt safe with her around him like this.

Aletha seemed pleased with it, too. “There,” she said, a distinctly happy note in her voice. “That’s better. Now, what other questions do you have?”

Right now Sam knew it was probably smart to ask more questions about himself. Aletha might not know what his powers were going to manifest as, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know anything. She’d said before that she had them under wraps thanks to their bond. That she was holding them back, so to speak. Sam knew he should ask her about that, and about what he needed to do to prepare for when she had to let go because there was no way she was going to hold them indefinitely. At the very least, he should ask her if there was some way to turn it all off.

Instead, he found himself asking her “Can you tell me more about you?”

He felt her surprise in their bond. “Me?”

“I don’t know anything about you, really. Until I met you, I’d never even heard of the…?”

“ _Tutator_ ,” she filled in.

Sam gave a small nod. “ _Tutator_. I’d never even heard of them, and now I find myself bonded to one. Can you tell me more about you? About your kind?”

“Depends – you asking as a scholar, as my bonded, or as a hunter?”

The words stung sharply, just the way Sam knew they were meant to. He opened his mouth to answer, only to snap it shut when he realized he wasn’t quite sure what the answer was. Could he honestly say that he wasn’t asking as a hunter? It was habit for him to discover as much as he possibly could about pretty much _anything_. Especially something new. Aletha wasn’t something he was here to hunt, though. She was… she was his partner. His bonded, as she’d referred to it a few times now. Chewing on his lip, Sam hesitantly admitted “All three?”

He wasn’t sure for a second just how she was going to take his words. Then she surprised him by chuckling.

Aletha turned her head so she could nudge at his. “At least you’re honest enough to admit it.”

“Aletha, I…”

“No, no, it’s fine, little one. Calm down.” She leaned in enough to nuzzle at his hair while soothing emotions filled their bond. When Sam relaxed down into her, she gave his head another little thump with hers, and Sam swore he could feel her smiling. “Being a hunter is a part of who you are. Even if you stay out of it for the rest of your life, it’s always going to be a part of you. It’s how you were raised.”

“I don’t want to be just another hunter.” That was the last thing Sam wanted. He wanted to be _free_.

Aletha flicked him with her tail. “I’m not saying you have to be. Be whoever you want to be, Sam. I’ll support you every step of the way.”

Her tail flicked him again, and Sam caught it instinctively, stopping it from hitting his face. She didn’t try and pull it away from him, though. Instead, she let him hold it, let him play with it a little by running his fingers over the fur. It helped to soothe him – something she took note of and filed away.

With Sam soothing himself on her tail, Aletha took advantage of the quiet and actually answered his questions, something he had been sure she was going to just brush off.

“There’s not a lot of lore out there about my kind. We’ve worked really hard to downplay what we are and what we came from, to make sure that no one finds out too much about us.” As Aletha spoke, she let her tail soften in Sam’s hands. He fiddled absently with it. Most of his focus was on her words. “We’ve let ourselves get lumped in with familiars because it’s safer that way for us. Less chance of us being hunted. But… it’s not what we are. We’re guardians, and that’s so much more. Familiars can’t create the kind of soul bond that we do. It’s… unique to my kind.”

“So you’ve been around for a long time. Just, hiding?”

She gave a low hum that vibrated through her kind of like a rumbling purr. “Yeah. We were… the _Tutator_ were made a long, long time ago.” Here she paused, as if unsure of what to say next, or how to say it. Sam felt her hesitance in their bond. Just as he felt it when her emotions firmed and took on a determined edge that made him a bit nervous. What was she about to say that had her so worried? He didn’t have to wait long to find out.

“Before we were made, we were something else. Something… different. Less, in a way, because we were capable of helping people, we just – didn’t. There was a group of us that wasn’t satisfied by how little we were able to do. We wanted to do more – to _be_ more. We wanted to help people. Then, one day, we were given the option to do just that. To change what we were and become something more. Something that would be able to help people who really needed help. The psychics, the empaths, the telepaths. The ones with powers that had no one to help them or shelter them or protect them. All the ones that the rest of the humans were afraid of, or that they hunted. People who couldn’t protect themselves all that well because of their abilities. We were offered the choice to help, and we leapt at it.”

“What were you before?”

Aletha paused, and Sam felt it as her whole body went still. Even the bond seemed quiet.

Pushing his head against her a little, Sam turned to look back at her face, his brows furrowing down in confusion. Green eyes met his without hesitance. “Does it matter?” she asked him quietly. “Does it really matter what I was before? What I was turned into, that’s what I am now.”

Her quiet words only made Sam all the more curious. “Is there a reason it’s a secret?”

“Honestly?” She tilted her head and studied his face. “Right now, I doubt you’d believe me, and I’d like for us to be a bit more bonded and to trust each other more before I explain it. But, Sam… I _will_ explain it one day. You’ve got my word on that.”

The way that she said it and the seriousness that Sam could feel coming off of her was enough to have him tempering his instinctive need to demand an answer now, not later. Whatever was going on with her, this was important. Aletha had been blunt and upfront about everything else so far. If she wanted to wait on this, could he really judge her for it? She wasn’t lying and pretending there was nothing there. She was just saying _not now._ He could respect that.

Sam stared a moment longer and then gave a small, barely-there nod. If he wasn’t going to get an answer to this, however, he wanted some answers on other things. Namely… “This protection thing – what does it mean?”

“I’m not sure I get what you’re asking,” Aletha asked, sounding puzzled. Either at the question or the abrupt topic switch.

“I don’t want someone getting hurt just because they were mean to me,” Sam said bluntly. He didn’t want to upset her, but he needed to get this out. Years and years of multiple schools had taught Sam the lesson that people – kids especially – could be nice, but they could also be assholes. Especially to the new, weird kid. He didn’t want Aletha going after anyone who tried that at Stanford.

“Ah.” There was a slight movement under Sam’s head. Aletha shifted and resettled herself a little in what Sam could feel was just a chance for her to think of an answer.

When she didn’t answer right away, Sam cocked his head, narrowing his eyes. “Aletha.”

“What? I’m not going to just stand back and let someone be mean to you, Sam! You’re _my_ bonded. You better believe I’m going to look out for you!”

“Getting upset about it doesn’t do anything,” Sam countered.

“And doing nothing doesn’t accomplish anything, either. I won’t stand by and let people hurt you, Sam. That’s not in my nature. I was literally created as protection for my bonded.” She tilted her head in and nudged at Sam’s temple. “I promise, I’m not going to go and kill someone because they called you a name. I’ll trust that you can handle the little things. But I won’t stand back if I think you need protecting, Sam. I’m sorry – I can’t.”

Something told Sam this was the best he was going to get. A promise not to kill someone just for an insult. Turning his face in towards her, he let his cheek rest against her fur and sighed softly. “We’ll work on it.”

Quiet fell over the room as the two of them lay there together. There were still quite a few things they needed to figure out, and Sam hadn’t asked anywhere near all of his questions yet. But for the moment they were safe, they were together, and they ad time. It didn’t all have to happen right now. They had the next week to get to know one another and start to get comfortable with each other. Hopefully, by the time the dorms opened up, the newly bonded duo would have a better idea of what to do, and how exactly this whole thing was going to work.

Hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, folks. Here's the thing. I want your opinion:
> 
> Originally, this was going to be just one long story, but I want to know how you guys want this. Because these next chapters would each have time jumps. I'm not writing out ALL of Sam's college years - just the important highlights. Settling into his dorm, getting a job, meeting friends, as well as other things I'm not giving away. So, here's what I want to know. Would you like it to stay one long story, and I can just put the Month and Year in bold at the top of each chapter? I mean, that's easy enough - or should I break this up into stories and make the thing a series?
> 
> Also, I'd love to know what kind of things you'd like to see during Sam's 3.5 years at college :D


	5. Chapter 5

One thing that Sam quickly learned about Aletha was that she was one of the easiest roommates that he’d ever come across. Living with her – even with having her inside his head more and more with each passing day – wasn’t ever awkward or difficult or any of the things he’d worried it might be. Granted, they’d only been there three days so far, but in that time frame, Sam found himself relaxing with her in ways he’d only ever managed when it was just him and Dean.

But it was on the evening of their third day when Aletha finally broached the one subject that Sam had been avoiding since the last time they’d talked about it.

They were sitting down to a dinner of ramen noodles – with Aletha sitting across from him as a lemur, munching on a piece of an apple that Sam had cut up for her – when she decided to bring it up. She was blunt about it, a trait of hers that Sam might cringe over once or twice, but that he _did_ appreciate. “Sam, we need to talk about your powers.”

Sam looked up from his noodles, eyebrows going up with surprise. “What?”

“Your powers,” Aletha repeated. She finished off the bit of apple she was eating and sat back a little on the table top to better be able to look up at him. “Ever since we bonded, I’ve been holding your powers back, giving the bond time to settle between us. But like I told you, I can’t keep holding them back forever. They’re already starting to slip through. You’ve been getting headaches…”

A grimace twisted Sam’s features. Yeah, he’d been getting headaches, but he’d sort of _always_ had those. “Headaches aren’t exactly new for me. I get them all the time.”

“Every single day?”

Well, no, not typically. They were once in a while, with an occasional migraine to shake things up and knock him down. But it seemed like he’d had at least a low-grade headache almost nonstop these past few days. Sam stared down at his noodles and stirred them with his fork. “You’re saying that’s because of my powers?”

“They want free,” Aletha said plainly. “They’re _yours_ , and they don’t like being held back so tightly. Not even by me. They’re fighting to break free.”

The way she gave a grimace of her own at that had Sam’s eyes narrowing on her. He focused inward on their bond, a skill he was improving at daily. When he looked closely enough, it was easy for him to see that he wasn’t the only one with a headache. Sam couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before. Aletha was suffering just as much as he was, all because she was trying to hold his powers back for him so he’d have time to adjust. Was it fair of him to make her suffer like that just because he was scared?

“Oh, little one.” She sighed and gave a small shake of her head. Behind her, her tail twitched. “If it were a matter of a little pain, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. I can take a little pain. But it’s going to start really hurting _you_.”

“I can take the pain, too.”

Aletha’s smile turned a little sadder. “I know you can. But why should you have to? Sam… this isn’t going to go away. Forgetting about it or not talking about it won’t make it disappear. It’s still going to be there, building and building, until finally, it bursts free on its own. If that’s what happens, we won’t have any control over it at all. It’s all going to come out like once. But if we do it slowly and carefully, letting things out little by little, we should be able to help you gain control as it happens instead of having you be bombarded by it all.”

Having her call him out on things had Sam flinching a little. He ducked his head back down and went back to stirring his noodles again, not really paying any attention as he did. She was right – he’d been avoiding this. The last thing Sam wanted was to have to face the facts and really, truly accept that he had _powers_. That he really was a freak. They’d talked about it, sure, and he liked to think that he’d accepted it, even just a little. But… letting them out? Agreeing to have them come back to him?

He couldn’t ask her to keep holding them back, though. Not when they were clearly hurting her. Besides which, she was right. Forgetting about it or not talking about it wasn’t going to make them disappear. The powers were still going to be a part of him. Better he accepts it now than let it hit him later when he was unprepared.

Still, Sam couldn’t help biting his bottom lip and sneaking a glance up at his bonded. “You’ll… you’ll help me, right?”

The smile that lit up Aletha’s face was wide and bright. “Every single step of the way.”

“Okay.” If she was going to be right here with him, he could do it. He could make it through this. At least he’d have one person in his corner, right? Sam let out a shaky breath and gave a small nod as he lifted his eyes and focused on hers once more. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

What ‘this’ involved ended up being nothing much on Sam’s part. He didn’t have to help her, didn’t have to sit still or reach out or do _anything_. All he had to do was go to sleep. “Seriously?” Sam asked. He furrowed his eyebrows and watched her with open surprise. “That’s it? Just… sleep?”

Aletha, still in her lemur form, nodded and jumped up to settle on the pillow next to his. “Yep! You go to sleep, I relax my hold a little, and your powers will start to slip back in. You don’t even have to be asleep, technically. It just makes it a whole lot easier if your mind isn’t conscious and fighting it the whole time. This way, things will settle back in, and you’ll wake up with everything neatly in place!”

That was it? “I just… go to sleep, and I wake up a witch?”

With their faces so close together it was easy to see as Aletha rolled her eyes. Then, to his surprise, she reached out and thumped his forehead. “How many times do I have to tell you? Having powers doesn’t make you a witch, or a Wiccan, or anything like that? You’re just you – Sam Winchester. A psychic, and a Natural. Beyond that, well, we’ll figure it out, won’t we?”

“And you’ll be here,” Sam reiterated. It was more a reminder to himself than anything else. Aletha would be there. He wasn’t going to be alone while dealing with this.

“I’ll be here.”

That was the thought that Sam held with him as he finally let go and drifted off to sleep with a guardian watching over him.

* * *

When Sam woke up in the morning, Aletha was a heavy weight against his legs that was becoming extremely familiar. No matter how she was when he went to sleep, he generally woke up to her in the golden retriever form. It was the perfect form for her to take when they slept because it took up some space without being too much, and it allowed her to cuddle his legs, or it gave Sam a warm body to wrap himself around.

He was getting used to it enough that it didn’t make him flinch or twitch awake in surprise. If anything, Sam woke up slowly this morning, enjoying that warm and lazy feeling that came from having a decent bed and a good companion.

When his bladder began to protest too loudly to ignore, Sam finally gave in and carefully extracted himself from the blankets before making his way to the bathroom. As soon as he took care of business, he dragged himself into the shower and washed the last of sleep from his face. He’d just ducked down underneath the spray to soak his hair – these showerheads were never tall enough for him – when the curtain opened.

Sam jerked his head up just in time to see a Goddamn _otter_ slip-sliding right into his bathtub. “Aletha!” Her name came out a little higher pitched than Sam would ever want to admit to, and he tried to twist himself to somehow find a way to cover all parts of him that were now open to her view.

It only served to make her laugh at him, the ornery little shit. “Calm down.” Without an ounce of shame, she moved forward and twined herself around his legs, making sure she got underneath the spray of water that he’d been blocking. He couldn’t scramble back with her around his legs, which just left him awkwardly trying to cover himself and not trip over her. Aletha just tilted her head up to the water and closed her eyes. “I’ve heard you complain about how little hot water there is. You’re not the only one that needs to get clean, you know. I figured it’d be smarter to share.”

“I… I’m _naked_!”

“And?” One eye opened, and Sam felt her amusement heavy in their bond. “You’ve got nothing I haven’t seen before, cub. And I promise you, I don’t really care about it. I’ll leave that whole messy business to you humans. Now, can we get clean before the hot water runs out? Or were you looking to take a cold shower today?”

The only thing that got him moving was the thought of losing his hot water. Sam couldn’t deny that it was awkward; showering with someone, even a human someone, had never really been a thing for him. It was hard when one of the people was a bit of a giant. That made logistics of showering together not quite that simple. But doing it with an otter at his feet? It wasn’t exactly something he had any kind of experience with, and he wasn’t sure what to do.

Aletha had no such problems. She splashed happily at the water and rubbed herself against his legs more than once in a way that made Sam feel like she was using him to get clean.

It was as he was trying to think of how to get past her to get the shampoo that things started to really get _weird_.

Sam was staring at the bottle, debating the logistics of how to get it without falling, when he suddenly found it _in his hand_. Just barely did Sam resist shouting, though he couldn’t stop the low “What the fuck?” that slipped free. He stared with wide eyes down at the bottle he was now holding. How the… how the hell had that happened?

His surprise, as well as his shouting, had Aletha straightening up. She looked up at him curiously. It wasn’t hard for her to figure out what had happened, even if it hadn’t been easy for her to pick up on inside their bond. “Your powers are kicking in.”

“I didn’t… I was just looking at it. I didn’t try and call it!”

“You wanted it, so your powers brought it to you.”

That was _insane_. Sam stared at the shampoo a moment longer. Then he shook his head. Okay, so _that_ was a thing now, apparently. He could just call items to him. It was something he was definitely going to have to toy around with later. Preferably once he was out of the shower and _dressed_.

* * *

Unfortunately, that little bit of time didn’t give Sam any sort of way to wrap his head around things.

He’d known it was coming. He’d known that this was going to happen. Sam had agreed to have Aletha release his powers, and he’d understood what that meant. He knew things were going to happen. And yet… to stand there in the shower and have his shampoo disappear and then reappear _in his hand_ … it was so _strange_. Sam didn’t quite know how to cope with that. He hadn’t even meant for it to happen!

“At least it’s something easy to start with,” Aletha tried to reassure him.

The two were out of the bathroom now, Sam dressed and with his teeth brushed, and they were heading to the table for some breakfast. Mostly it consisted of cereal. Sam had gotten used to eating it, just as he’d gotten used to Aletha shifting into a lemur once more and climbing up to the table to eat with him. Sam cut up their last apple into slices and brought it over to the table. They were going to have to figure out some financial things today and go do a little shopping. Sam could stretch this box of cereal for himself for a while. Aletha, however, needed something more substantial.

As Sam set down both his and Aletha’s food on the table, he sighed. “I know, I just… I don’t know how I feel about it. I mean, it’s weird.” Sam pulled his chair back and then dropped down into it. Absently, he picked up his spoon. “What if this happens at school? What if it happens in my dorm room? I looked up the rules – freshman have to stay in the dorms. I can’t move off campus till my second year. How am I gonna hide this while staying with some stranger?”

“I’ll be right there with you, Sam.”

“Will you?” Sam ducked his head and stabbed his spoon down into his bowl. He very deliberately didn’t look up. “It’s a… it’s a nice thought and all, but, I mean… it’s not really feasible. We’ve talked about this. They don’t let people have pets in the dorms. Without some sort of note or whatever saying that I need you for a medical reason or something else, there’s no… no real way I could have you there.”

Aletha looked up from her apple with interest. “You can get a note saying you need me there?”

“Well, yeah. But it’d have to be for a medical reason. Sometimes people with health problems, or a disability, or sometimes even with mental health issues, they have service animals to help them with their day. Stanford doesn’t let in pets, or just companion animals, but they do allow service animals in the dorms, and in all the classes, too.”

A speculative gleam entered Aletha’s eyes. “Really?”

Their bond allowed Sam to feel just how much her mind was racing with that new bit of information. What exactly she was thinking or what she was planning, he had no idea. Nothing was clear enough for him to catch that. But he could tell she was thinking about _something_.

“Don’t worry about it,” Aletha told him, smiling up at him. “You just leave that to me, okay? I’ve got the beginning of an idea. For now, why don’t we focus on playing around with your new power? The quicker you figure it out, the quicker you’ll be able to stop worrying about it happening accidentally. Luckily, I get the feeling this isn’t going to be all that hard for you. Power like this, it’s a matter of willpower and mental strength, and those are two things you’ve got plenty of.”

A flush colored Sam’s cheeks. No matter how often she did it, he still wasn’t used to how easily Aletha threw out compliments. “I should probably do some studying, too.”

“Studying?”

“I need to, to understand. I mean, if I’m going to have powers, shouldn’t I… know some things?”

When Sam looked up, he found Aletha watching him curiously. She was perched on the table, tail swinging down behind her, and her eyes bright on his. When she had his gaze, she tilted her head a little. “Is this about the whole ‘I’m a witch’ thing again? Because I already told you, having powers doesn’t make you a witch, Sam.”

“I know,” Sam agreed with her. And he did. He was starting to get that she really meant it when she said that. “I just… I want to learn. To understand. I can’t, I mean, these powers are gonna be a part of my life, right? There’s no getting away from them. If I’m going to learn to live with them, I need to learn what my options are. What it might mean for me. You said I don’t have to choose to be a witch, or a Wiccan, or whatever. But I’m starting to get that what I know about those things isn’t exactly right, and I can’t make a decision if I don’t know the truth.”

“Just so long as you’re doing it because you want to, not because you think you have to,” Aletha countered. She lifted up an apple and used it to point at him. “You do what feels right for you. If you just want to develop your abilities as they come out, that’s fine. If you feel drawn to Wicca for some reason, that’s fine too. There’s no set in stone rules here for what you believe or what you feel. Those are your choices, and I’ll support you one hundred percent. The only thing that’s gonna be nonnegotiable is that you’re gonna have to learn control. Power like yours, it can’t just lay dormant. It can’t be ignored. You try, and it’s only going to hurt you in the long run.”

They were past the point of trying to ignore things. No matter what else happened, Sam knew that. They were beyond that now. His powers were a part of his life, and he was going to have to learn how to control them, one way or another.

* * *

Sam and Aletha spent a good half the day in their motel room working on gaining control of Sam’s new little teleportation power. To Sam’s surprise, it wasn’t hard for him to figure out. With Aletha in the back of his mind to guide him, and her physical body curled up on the couch next to him – in dog form again – he practiced summoning items all around the room. All it took was a little bit of thought to call an item to him. The bigger it was, the more concentration it took, he discovered. The remote was easy to bring to him. No real thought at all. But bringing his duffle bag took a bit of focus.

Once he started to get the hang of that, Aletha had him work on sending the items _back_. That wasn’t anywhere near as easy. This wasn’t calling an object to his hand. It was a different theory entirely.

“Focus on the bottle,” Aletha told him, her voice easy and steady. She had her upper half draped over Sam’s thighs, lying so that she was able to look up at him but also tip her head back to look at the room if needed. “You know what it feels like to hold it and to call it to you. All you have to do is take that feeling and just will it to where you want it.”

“Oh, is that all?”

His dry voice earned him a doggy grin. “Yep!”

There was no way Sam could do anything except smile at her and roll his eyes. Snarky little brat. He did as she suggested, though. He turned his focus to trying to take the bottle in his hand and just… pictured it where he wanted it to go. Sam focused, drawing up an image in his head of the bottle he was holding, and the table he wanted it to be on.

When the bottle vanished from his hand and reappeared on the table, Sam let out a startled sound of surprise. It’d worked! It’d actually worked!

He turned wide eyes downwards to find Aletha grinning up at him. “Told you. See? _Easy_.”

All Sam had been able to do at that was just laugh.

There was something about Aletha’s way of handling all this that helped set Sam at ease. She treated it all like it was no big deal – like this was just normal and natural. There wasn’t a hint of judgment on her face or anything like that. No, instead she acted like it was either normal or like Sam was somehow special because of these freaky things he could do. Feeling that constantly coming from her – the warmth and affection and occasional pride – made it hard for Sam to hold on to the negative things he felt.

He still had plenty of questions. That was just a part of who he was; Sam always questioned everything. He had his questions, and soon he was going to have to start trying to find answers. But for now, for this one moment in time, Sam let go of the fears and the worries and the insecurities. He let it all fall by the wayside and just sat there, enjoying exploring his power with the bright, happy being laying on his lap.

**Author's Note:**

> Remember, reviews are golden!


End file.
